Kelly S. Mikelson, Ph.D.

Dr. Kelly S. Mikelson, Research Scientist, joined the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of Human Resources in October 2013 and left in 2015. Dr. Mikelson has over a decade of experience evaluating the efficacy of social policies including workforce development, children’s health disparities, welfare reform and income support policies, and examining the relationship between public policies and individual behavior. She is responsible for leading and contributing to research projects evaluating workforce development and educational programs and developing policy recommendations. Dr. Mikelson conducts both quantitative data analysis – statistical analysis of survey data and administrative data and records – and qualitative field research and has experience developing and conducting surveys. Prior to joining the Center, Dr. Mikelson was a Senior Research Associate at The Urban Institute and an evaluator at the U.S. GAO, both in Washington, DC. She received her A.B. in Sociology from Harvard/Radcliffe College, her Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and her Ph.D. in Public Policy from The University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.